Thursday, May 5, 2022

The Beauty that is Burgeo.

For those of you who have been there, you already know what I am talking about. For those of you who haven't, here are a few pics that only begin to tell the story. Pictures don't tell everything, though. The landscape, the people, the appreciation of culture and history and ecology and poetry and music and art, evident everywhere - all amazing. Unspoiled beauty. Where salt water and fresh meet, where history and a vibrant future are tied together. It was all quite humbling on a certain level and quite awe inspiring. Check it out.






Oh, and check out this beauty from their museum!

Thursday, December 7, 2017

hello out there . . .



A few new items I just added to the shop. I haven't been on here in forever. Does anybody visit blogs anymore?

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

organic cotton legwarmers for baby / armwarmers for kids

Just added a few new legwarmers to the shop in some scrumptious organic cotton interlocks. Am really loving these fabrics, they sew up like butter! Stripes seem to be ever-popular but I am partial to the scattered floral pair myself.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Monday, February 1, 2016

Recipe: Cranberry-Cherry Tart with a Nut Crust (Gluten-Free)



Cranberry-Cherry Tart with a nut crust 
(gluten-free, processed sugar-free with a dairy-free option)

I have a lot of tart cherries in my freezer that I picked from my parents' cherry trees this summer along with some frozen cranberries I got from a local farmer. Lately I have been craving both the cranberries and the cherries, and together they do make a great combination. I had made a traditional-type pie with a mixture of the two, but then I decided I wanted something just a little bit different to suit my personal tastes and came up with this recipe. I hope that you enjoy!

Cranberry-Cherry Filling
Ingredients
1 ½ cups of frozen cranberries
1 ½ cups of frozen tart cherries (pitted)
¾ cup of maple syrup
½ tsp almond extract
1 T of arrowroot powder
Put cherries and cranberries in a medium sized pot. Add maple syrup. Put cover on and bring to a boil on high heat. Remove cover and reduce heat to medium. Allow to simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes or reduced almost to your liking, stirring occasionally throughout. Remove from heat and stir in arrowroot powder. Return to heat for a minute or two. The mixture should thicken considerably. Remove from heat, stir in almond extract and allow to cool for half hour to an hour.

Tart Crust
Ingredients
½ cup of walnuts
½ cup of almonds
½ cup of sesame seeds
1 cup of gluten-free oats
1 T of coconut sugar
4 T of softened butter (salted) / coconut oil / unsalted butter
3 T marmalade (I like Crofters Organic Just Fruit Seville Orange Spread, sweetened only with white grape juice, but you can use whatever brand you like of course, or maybe your own!)

Place all dry ingredients in blender and blend until you have a fine – medium crumb. You may have to do this in batches depending on your blender. A few small pieces of nuts left in the mixture are just fine. If processing in batches be sure to thoroughly combine dry ingredients before adding butter. Pour into a bowl and add the butter, working it into the mixture with your fingers.
If you choose to use unsalted butter or coconut oil as a replacement for the salted butter, add a pinch of salt to the mixture for taste before adding the butter / oil.
Press crust mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 10" spring-form pan. Place into middle of a pre-heated oven (350 degrees) for 18 – 22 minutes, or until the crust begins to turn a light golden brown
Remove from oven and place on a cookie rack to cool. After 10 minutes, spread marmalade evenly over the crust. Allow to cool another 30 minutes or so.  
Add the cooled filling mixture onto the crust mixture, cover and chill in the fridge for an hour or so.

When ready to eat, top with whipped cream or greek yogourt sweetened with a teaspoon of honey or marmalade, (or use whipped coconut cream if you prefer). Enjoy!

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Monday, January 25, 2016

new baby pants

More organic baby pants added to the shop! Oh what fun!

I have been testing out this latest pattern I have drafted on some fabrics I had on hand and I am quite pleased with the results. I do have different fabrics coming in soon so that the full range of sizes (newborn up to 24 months) will be available in each of the new fabrics, so do check back!

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Snuggle Pants

The first pair of Snuggle Pants in Organic Cotton for baby in the shop (along with a matching hat). Very versatile for a growing and on-the-go baby. More sizes and fabrics to come!

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

a recipe

I have been feeling very "nesty" lately, is that a word? I have had some major life events unfold over the past year or so and whenever faced with big life changes I want nothing more than to stay rooted to my home and look after my little family. That means I've been doing a lot of cooking and baking which I would say has been therapeutic for me. In any case, I thought I'd share one of my recipes that I  came up with this morning. I'm not sure it even qualifies as a recipe, it is kind of something thrown together. It is very simple and adaptable to different ingredients / tastes. In any case, I hope you enjoy it!


Chocolate-Covered Granola Clusters


Ingredients
1 cup of dry mix made up of equal parts of the following: sunflower seeds, hemp hearts, toasted oats, gluten-free cereal o's, raisins, and dried cranberries.
1/2 cup of Camino organic / fair trade chocolate chips (1/2 dark, 1/2 semi-sweet)


Directions
1. Toss dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2. In a double boiler (or in a heavy bowl nestled on top of a pot of simmering water), melt chocolate chips. Mix in cinnamon, vanilla extract and sea salt.
3. Once melted, stir in the dry ingredients, remove from heat and spread out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pop in the freezer for about 20 minutes, then scrape cooled mixture off of parchment and crumble into a bowl.
4. Store at room temperature in a sealed container to retain freshness, if they last that long!

Makes close to 2 cups of mix.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

keeping the kiddos warm. and their bears, too.